EDITOR'S NOTE

Roshi Joan Halifax begins her presentation at the TED Women conference by talking about social action projects that are based in a compassionate response to suffering of all species on our planet.

An Xiao Mina responds to Roshi's powerful talk about compassion, the nature of it, and how it’s detached from ego and self...familiar Zen concepts that Roshi makes very contemporary.

Sharon Salzberg asks whether we can find that place in the middle of extremes — neither fruitlessly clinging to transient experiences, nor working from a place of self-hatred — to take a compassionate look at our lives.

You'll also find information about the winter solstice and lunar eclipse (December 21) as well as many upcoming events (including a new Being with Dying training in Thailand), retreats, and holiday gift ideas.

December and New Years Upaya Events

Gala Rinpoche, group leader of the Mystical Arts of Tibet Tour, will speak about The Psychology of Enlightenment on December 22.Drepung Loseling monks will chant on December 29. You'll find more information about Upaya and Roshi's connection with these monks in the program information below.New Year's Eve Sit, with 108 bells, December 31.

Gift Ideas From Upaya

A beautiful Green Tara giclée print of the original created by renowned artist Mayumi Oda (limited quantity available at a reduced price only through December 31)

Holiday gift baskets (only a few left) — for anyone on your gift list

We are glad to share Upaya eNews with you...and look forward to seeing you at Upaya in 2011!

Dec 31 — New Year's Eve sit 10-12 pm with Roshi Joan and sangha. Sitting in intervals of 25 minutes then 10 minutes of walking meditation, followed at midnight by 108 bells on the densho, a brief informal talk by Roshi Joan, and chanting the four vows. Afterward, please join us for tea and cookies in the River House. All are welcome, and please RSVP if you plan to attend, upaya@upaya.org.

Meditation Instruction: Available by appointment. Email Keizan, Upaya's Temple Assistant, to arrange a time, at temple@upaya.org. Dana will be appreciated.

Special Request

Housing for Retreat Guests: Because of limited housing at Upaya, we are requesting that the extended community let us know if you are able to house retreat guests on a donation basis or by renting a room. Please contact Roberta registrar@upaya.org. We really appreciate your generosity.

Sensei Beate Genko Stolte's 2011 Teaching Schedule with Links

Links for information and registration for each program are listed below. Or you can click here for a link to Upaya's entire 2011 calendar._________

Apr 14 — 17: FILM RETREAT: Breaking Bread with Darkness — An Exploration into the Alchemy of Hope, Sensei Beate Genko Stolte * Dyanna Taylor, with special appearances by Natalie Goldberg and Jimmy Santiago Baca. Click here for more information and to register.

Roshi Joan's News and Upcoming Teachings, Travels

Roshi is in winter retreat. On January 4, she will be doing a special evening seminar with writer Henry Shukman on Tang Dynasty poetry. Please join her and Henry in the Upaya House at 7:30 pm. Donation.

In early January, Roshi spends a week with her good friend Ram Dass and teaches at Maui Hospice. In mid-January, she will teach a course on compassion for the renowned San Diego Hospice. (To register online: www.sdhospice.org.)

She returns to Upaya, where she will be co-teaching the Zen Brain retreat at Upaya on January 20 - 23. For information: www.upaya.org. Roshi invites you to attend this remarkable program with neuroscientists Richard Davidson, Al Kaszniak, Cliff Saron, and philosophers John Dunne and Evan Thompson. This contemplative seminar explores the nature of consciousness with some of the leading neuroscientists and philosophers of our time. For information, click here.

After this program. Roshi flies to Davos, Switzerland to participate in the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2011, January 26 - 30. The overall theme for this Annual Meeting is Shared Norms for the New Reality.

She leaves for Burma with her group on February 9 at a historic time in Burmese history. Inspired for many years by the power and courage of the Buddhist social activist Aung Sung Suu Kyi, she feels that this journey to Burma is of particular significance.

From Burma, she flies to San Francisco, where she will participate in the the Second Annual Wisdom 2.0 ConferenceFebruary 25 - 27 in Silicon Valley; for information, click here. She will also be attending the Threshold meeting, north of Silicon Valley at that time. Then home to Upaya Zen Center and the Buddhist Chaplaincy Training Program, with candidates from many parts of the world. She will be giving Jukai to Cohort 3 and ordaining twenty Buddhist chaplains in Cohort 2. This unique two-year training program offers a remarkable perspective on chaplaincy, based on systems theory and Buddhist practice and philosophy. For information, please contact Program Director Maia Duerr at chaplaincy@upaya.org

In mid-March, Roshi moves to Washington DC for two months. She is an Invited Scholar-in-Residence and Kluge Fellow at the Library of Congress. During her residency at the Library, her weekends will be occupied with teaching nationally. More details on her spring schedule will be published soon.

March 24 - 27 Roshi will be giving one of the keynote speeches at the 2011 Conference of the Association of Professional Chaplains in Dallas, TX. For details, click here. It's an excellent event if you intend to become a professional chaplain.

Please Note: As you can see, Roshi will be offering few programs at Upaya in the next six months. We encourage you to join her at Zen Brain in January (click here), or Burma in February (click here), or with Sharon Salzberg in April (click here).

In mid September, Roshi goes to Mustang (Lo Montang) in Nepal, which is more Tibetan than Tibet, a wild kingdom north of the Annapurna range, with its ancient monasteries and windcarved landscape. Registration (limited) for this journey is open now. For information, click on the link for this retreat here: Mustang (Lo Montang).

"This compelling, brave, and wise book draws from a lifetime of remarkable work with people at the end of life."—Andrew Weil, MD

"Joan Halifax has a knack for straight talk and sublime insight—a no-holds-barred approach to life's greatest challenge, dying well. This book beckons to those who dare, and those who care; it's a profound and practical guidebook to the inevitable final dance."—Daniel Goleman, author of Emotional Intelligence

Roshi Joan and three close friends, John Madison, Lola Long, and Brother John, made a remarkable Pilgrimage to Mt. Kailash in 1987. They hitchhiked across the Tibetan plateau where Roshi Joan did a retreat in a cave north of Lake Manasarovar. She and her friends circumambulated Mt. Kailash and then hitchhiked back across the plateau. Watch the video here—this is an extraordinary film. Enjoy!

CONNECT WITH ROSHI

Roshi's interest in social networking reflects her early work in anthropology and her Buddhist vision of interconnectedness. Photos

Dharma Talks: The Upaya bookstore has a number of Roshi's dharma talks on DVD. Please call the front office for titles and ordering, 505-986-8518, or email upaya@upaya.org

Tibet: The Chinese filmmaker Kam Sung has made a fascinating and visually poetic account of Roshi Joan in Tibet. A high-resolution version on DVD is now available from Upaya. Email at upaya@upaya.org or call 505-986-8518 to order. See exceptional video of Roshi in Eastern Tibet done by Kam Sung: https://www.createspace.com/267427 to purchase the film or click here to view A CONSTANT PILGRIM.

CD

Roshi Joan's 6-CD series on Being with Dying (from Sounds True Audio) is now available. To order, call 505-986-8518 or email: upaya@upaya.org

FEATURE ARTICLES, EVENTS

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TED Women Conference: Roshi Joan Halifax Talk

My name is Joan Halifax, and I am a Buddhist teacher, social activist, anthropologist, and founding abbot of Upaya Zen Center. For many decades I have worked with dying people, trained health care providers, found myself in the nineties working in our prison system, and over these years, have been involved in many social action projects based in a compassionate response to suffering in our world.

Standing here, I remember the words of the Dalai Lama: "Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them humanity cannot survive." I would expand the end of these words to include not only humans but all species on our precious earth.

Compassion has long been a mental quality that has guided me. The Afro-american woman, Lila, (her mother had been a slave) who took care of me as a child when I was gravely ill and could not see spun this sensibility into my nervous system through her great kindness; from that time onward, the alleviation of the suffering of others has been a path that I cannot turn away from. I think that is why I became a Buddhist, for the Buddha said: I teach one thing and one thing only: the presence of suffering and the end of suffering.

So how do we end suffering? I think it is through manifesting unconditional compassion. That is what I learned from my grandmother and from my mother and the women who raised me, the women who were my teachers, and the women who are my close friends.

We then ask what is compassion? It is a mental quality characterized by the ability to be touched by suffering, to have concern for the wellbeing of others, and the aspiration and action to relieve suffering, with no attachment to outcome.

All human beings are endowed with this mental quality but many have not had the chance to have the seeds of compassion watered. That is why we are here today: to explore how we as girls and women can water the seeds of compassion in our world...how we can end suffering. We can do this, I promise. We must do this, I know.

But let’s look a little more closely at compassion. Did you know that there are near and far enemies of compassion? The far enemy is cruelty, which is easy to detect. But the near enemies are harder to recognize and can easily drain us. The near enemies include pity, righteous anger and fear. Know that the near enemies can destroy us. So we must look truthfully at our experience and see if our response to suffering is healthy; we must evaluate carefully our choices, so we don’t get caught in idiot compassion or shrink in the face of suffering. We have to ask ourselves what will really serve to help others be free of stress, anguish, misery, confusion, and terror?

Compassion arises out of our capacity to be intimate, to be transparent, to have a heart and mind that is so balanced that we can perceive the world clearly and realistically. Compassion also makes it possible for us to be perceived deeply by others, to have an undefended heart. It is a fundamental courageous mental and behavioral process that allows us to be more resilient, according to neuroscience research, to be more mentally integrated, the neuroscientists have discovered, and to even have a greater immune response to the noxiousness around us.

It is also important to realize that compassion is a mental quality that we can nourish, that we can develop; in other words, we can grow and increase our quotient of compassion. Yes, compassion is a buildable skill!

So I want to know why we don’t nourish the seeds of compassion in our children, if compassion is so good for us? Why don’t we train our health care providers in compassion, since compassion is about the commitment to alleviate suffering? Why don’t we vote for our politicians based on compassion, so we could have a more caring world?

Know that it takes a strong back and soft front, equanimity and kindness for us to realize compassion in our lives. We need the strength to uphold ourselves in the midst of any conditions, and at the same time great openness and caring toward the world.

Yet what we see too often is a strong front, a front that is defended and hard, and a weak back, spinelessness in our world. We see people hiding behind their roles, their wealth, their ambition, their so-called intelligence. We see a world that is often devoid of wisdom and lacking in compassion, a world that is riddled with fear.

We can reflect on the words of our sister Buddhist activist: Aung San Suu Kyi: “The only real prison is fear. And the only real freedom is freedom from fear.”

In Buddhism, the archetype of fearless compassion is feminine, exemplified as Kwan Yin, Avalokiteshvara, “she who perceives the cries of suffering in the world.” Kwan Yin exemplifies that ability to have our hearts engaged and not broken. Thus women today and for thousands of years have manifested the strength of compassion in perceiving the cries of suffering in the world, in infusing society with kindness, in manifesting compassion through direct action.

We can live in a world where girls and women lead through their natural compassion. I know we can nourish that world together, with each other, and with boys and men, our lovers, our fathers, our husbands, our congressmen, our doctors, our lawyers, our teachers, our builders, plumbers, road workers, our president, all beings.

There is a story in Zen Buddhism that goes like this: Yunyan asked Daowu: What does the bodhisattva of great compassion do with so many hands and eyes? Daowu: It's like someone reaching for a pillow at night. Yunyan: I understand Daowu: What do you understand? Yunyan: All over the body, hands and eyes. Daowu: You only got 80 percent. Yunyan: What about you? Daowu: Throughout the body, hands and eyes.

So I say to you, to me, to all of us: Throughout the body, hands and eyes. Let us be permeated by compassion, just as was my grandmother, my mother, Lila, and the many women who have been guiding lights for you and for me in the shadowland of this world. Let us build a compassionate world together, you and me. We can do this. We can do this together!

FOUR VOWS: NIGHT CHANT

Arundhati Roy: "To love. To be loved. To never forget your own insignificance. To never get used to the unspeakable violence and the vulgar disparity of life around you. To seek joy in the saddest places. To pursue beauty to its lair. To never simplify what is complicated or complicate what is simple. To respect strength, never power. Above all, to watch. To try and understand. To never look away. And never, never, to forget."

TED Women: An Xiao Mina

This past Thursday and Friday, I helped Dr. M.A. Greenstein organize TEDxSunsetBlvdWestLA, a livestreaming of TEDWomen for folks in LA’s Brentwood Village. This was my first time viewing a TED event live, rather than clicking around different topics.

What I found most striking about TED is the way the event mixed different speakers from very different topics. I knew this intuitively; I’m a big fan of the site and listen to their podcast while I drive. But it’s different to actually be in attendance (albeit virtually) and witness the flow of talks and follow the live tweets. We jumped from Roshi Joan Halifax to Donna Karan, from artist Shirin Neshat to former Secretary of State Madeline Albright.

It’s a potent mix, and the event leaves room for surprising insights and parallels and only cements in my mind the notion that true innovation comes from making connections among disparate fields.

Two of my favorite talks, which I hope are posted soon, came from artist Shirin Neshat and Zen Roshi Joan Halifax. I wrote briefly about Neshat’s talk on Hyperallergic and described her critique of art in the West. Here in the U.S. and much of Europe, it’s easy to create art that’s divorced from politics and divorced even from the “real world”. We don’t feel the same pressure that an artist like Neshat, who is exiled from Iran, feels. At the same time, I find her art much more compelling. She mentioned that art can quickly become entertainment when it doesn’t address politics, and frankly, I find art much richer when it addresses real world issues.

The American Zen community is fairly small, but Joan Halifax had been flying under the radar for me. She gave a very powerful talk about compassion, the nature of it, and how it’s detached from ego and self. These are familiar Zen concepts, but she made them very contemporary. I’ll be sure to post the video once it’s ready, as it’s worth listening to, regardless of your religious affiliations.

I don’t know of many other events where an Iranian artist who addresses Islam and an American Buddhist teacher and former civil activist speak under one roof. It was quite powerful.

(Source: http://anxiaostudio.com/; accessed December 14, 2010.)

Buddhism: Between Overindulgence and Self-Hatred: Sharon Salzberg

Sharon Salzberg will be at Upaya twice in early 2011:

Dharma talk/book signing, Wednesday, February 16, "Real Happiness: The Power of Meditation"

Retreat leader with Roshi Joan, April 8-10,REAL HAPPINESS (click for details and to register)

__________

It is said that the Buddha did not inform or instruct others about the dharma, the truth, but rather he proclaimed the truth, or more exactly, he revealed it. We can't give the truth to someone as an object, we can only point to it, inviting inspection.

It is in that spirit that we can hear or read a teaching and then look at our own lives, at our own experiences to see whether anything might have been revealed about them.

In the Buddhist texts there are phrases depicting the response of people hearing a teaching: "That which was overturned has been righted, the hidden revealed, the way has been shown to one who was lost, a lamp has been held up in the darkness." In the end, we can't hold on to the teachings as an identity or an object, we cannot become attached to them because in some strange sense there is nothing to claim. There's no commodity we can take with us. There is only our lives, whether we live them wisely or whether we live them in ignorance. And this is everything.

The Buddha said once, "I do not argue with the world. It is the world which argues with me." Many times the Buddha was asked what he thought about a certain teacher, or a certain presentation or doctrine. He would often say things like, "Look to see if the path, if the practice, leads to the complete ending of greed, hatred, and delusion in your lives. And if it does, you can trust it." "Look to see whether it leads to the end of suffering. Look for yourselves." That is our invitation, and our responsibility.

The teachings of the Buddha are talked about as the middle way or the middle path because they avoid two extremes. They avoid the first common extreme of overindulgence or reliance upon intense pleasure for perfect happiness. We live in this world of great promise, where everything seems to offer an unchanging final happiness, if we can only get enough of it. It is very intoxicating. If we get lost in the delusion that somehow some sensual pleasure, seeing, hearing, tasting, touching, thinking, whatever it is, is going to provide a lasting happiness, then we're lost, because as things continually change, we continually suffer.

The other extreme of this reliance, this overindulgence of the senses, is the extreme of self-mortification or self-torment or over-asceticism. In the philosophical systems of India in the time of the Buddha, it was often believed that if the body could be tortured or tormented enough, then somehow the spirit would soar free and the person would be liberated. Nowadays, perhaps we experience some of this in eating disorders, or self-mutilation. But primarily this now manifests in a kind of mental or emotional self-mortification or self-torment, where people seem to believe that if somehow they can condemn themselves enough, or torture themselves enough with-self hatred, that their spirit will soar free and there will be liberation, there will be final and perfect happiness.

It is imperative for us to see beyond this tendency in order to both understand and achieve true spiritual transformation. The Buddha said: "Hatred will never cease by hatred. It will only cease by love. This is an eternal law." This includes the tendency towards self-hatred -- it will never cease by more hatred. Bringing hatred to a hate-filled situation will add hatred. Bringing love will bring love.

The Buddha also said: "You can search the entire universe for someone who is more deserving of your love and affection than yourself. This person is not to be found anywhere." What an incredible statement that is!

So for us the question becomes, can we find that place in the middle of these extremes, neither fruitlessly clinging to transient experiences, nor working from a place of self-hatred? Can we discover a place within of interest, awareness, and love that can motivate our practice? Can we find that very delicate place in the middle of these extremes, and empowered by that, really take a look at our lives? Taking a look at our lives in this way, we can see deeper truths for ourselves. Seeing these deeper truths, we can be liberated from old habits of clinging and condemning and delusion. We can be ready to proclaim, "That which was overturned has been righted, the hidden revealed, the way has been shown to one who was lost, a lamp has been held up in the darkness."

Lunar Eclipse and Winter Solstice December 21

Skygazers hoping to catch the last lunar eclipse of 2010 on Tuesday morning best be ready to stay up late (or wake up very early) to watch the full moon as it goes through a range of dramatic color changes.

The December 21 lunar eclipse is expected to last about three-and-a-half hours from its start as a partial eclipse at 1:33 a.m. ET to its finish at 5:01 a.m. ET, according to NASA. The previous lunar eclipse occurred June 26.

During a lunar eclipse, the moon, the Earth, and the sun align so that the sun's rays are shielded from the moon. An eclipse of the moon can only take place if the moon is full, and only if the moon passes through some portion of Earth's shadow, which is composed of two cone-shaped parts, one nested inside the other.

The start of the total eclipse is expected around 2:41 a.m, when the entire moon passes through the Earth's umbra, or inner shadow, which blocks all direct sunlight from reaching the moon.

The moon will take on a vibrant red color until 3:35 a.m., according to NASA.

Before and after the total eclipse, the moon will pass through the penumbra, or outer region of the Earth's shadow, where Earth blocks some of the sun's rays, but not all.

The entire event is visible from North America, Greenland and Iceland. Western Europe will see the beginning stages of the eclipse before moonset while western Asia will get the later stages after moonrise. To find out the best viewing times outside of the Eastern Time Zone, check out NASA's page on the December 21 lunar eclipse, and then refer to this handy guide for converting times.

The Psychology of Enlightenment: Lecture by Gala Rinpoche

At Upaya, Wednesday, December 22, 5:30 pm.____________The mind determines how we experience life and how we evolve as individuals. This lecture looks at Buddhist maps of the mind—its nature and functions—while addressing the ways in which its health and stability can be consciously developed.

Gala Rinpoche was born in central Tibet, and in 1984 came into exile and enrolled at Tibetan Children’s Village School at Dharamsala in Northern India.

At the age of sixteen he was recognized by the His Holiness the Dalai Lama as the 7th reincarnation of Gala Tulku from Batha Monastery in Kham Dege, Eastern Tibet. That same year he entered the great monastic University of Drepung Loseling and was formally enthroned in accordance to tradition. Since then, Rinpoche has pursued intensive formal studies in Buddhist philosophy, psychology, logic, debate and scriptural subjects, and in the practice of meditation under the direction and guidance of some of the greatest masters of our time.

In 1992, His Holiness the Dalai Lama ordained him as a novice monk in Drepung Monastery. In 1997, he received Bhishu vows from His Holiness the Dalai Lama in Dharamsala.

Rinpoche completed his studies in all the five major Buddhist texts in Loseling College and is currently participating in the Mystical Arts of Tibet Tour as group leader.

Drepung Loseling Monks: The Mission of Their Monastery

At Upaya, Wednesday, December 29, 5:30 pm. ____________

Your presence at the Drepung Loseling event at Upaya on December 29 supports this extraordinary monastery. Roshi Joan encourages you to join her and the residential community for this beautiful prayer ceremony on behalf of peace.

Roshi notes that it was her community in California, The Ojai Foundation, who welcomed these monks for their first visit in the United States two decades ago. It is a joy and honor to welcome them annually to Upaya.

The Mission of Their Monastery

About Drepung Loseling Monastery: Following the legacy of Drepung Loseling Monastery, India, and with the patronage of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Drepung Loseling is dedicated to the study and preservation of the Tibetan Buddhist tradition of wisdom and compassion. A center for the cultivation of both heart and intellect, it provides a sanctuary for the nurturance of inner peace and kindness, community understanding, and global healing.

In implementing this vision, Drepung Loseling has two main objectives: To contribute to North American culture by providing theoretical knowledge and practical training in Tibetan Buddhist scholarly traditions for Western students, scholars and the general public; and to help preserve the endangered Tibetan culture, which today leads a fragile existence in the exiled refugee communities in India and Nepal.

Compassion in Action: A Buddhist-Muslim Dialogue with Roshi Joan Halifax and Daisy Khan

Compassion is central to Buddhism, Islam, and all religious traditions. Nevertheless, a dangerous prejudice against Muslims has developed in the United States, even though Muslims have been part of the U.S. since before the Constitution was written.

In today's political climate, the need for compassionate allies is vital in order to counter the rhetoric of fear. Join us for a heartfelt dialogue on how we can move forward in a complex, pluralistic America that appreciates and honors difference.

Roshi Joan Halifax is abbot and head teacher of Upaya Zen Center, a Buddhist monastery in Santa Fe, NM. She has worked in the area of death and dying for over thirty years, and is a founding teacher of the Zen Peacemaker Order. She also directs the Upaya Prison Project, offering meditation classes for prisoners. Daisy Khan is executive director of the American Society for Muslim Advancement. Along with her husband, Iman Feisal Rauf, she recently received major national coverage relating to Cordoba House, the Muslim interfaith center in New York mistakenly labeled the "Ground Zero mosque." She has launched cutting-edge programs for youth and women to facilitate the emergence of leadership with a credible, humane, and equitable voice in the global Muslim community.

"We have inherited a big house, a great ‘world house' in which we have to live together-black and white, Easterners and Westerners, Gentiles and Jews, Catholics and Protestants, Moslem and Hindu, a family unduly separated in ideas, culture, and interests who, because we can never again live without each other, must learn, somehow, in this one big world, to live with each other." —Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Being with Dying — Thailand: Roshi Joan Halifax

Being with Dying: A contemplative-relational approach to compassionate and mindful end-of-life care

Being with those who are dying is a part of the human experience, yet caregivers often feel unprepared to support dying people as they encounter the final phase of human development. The cultivation of the necessary mental qualities and practical skills that allow caregivers to effectively accompany dying people and their families through the experience of a catastrophic illness and/or the dying process requires training. Such training involves the development of a steady, compassionate, and present-centred awareness that positions caregivers as strong, compassionate, and stable advocates for those who are suffering and dying. It also affords caregivers a means to be enriched, and not depleted by, their care of others.

Roshi Joan Halifax of the Upaya Institute trains caregivers in a contemplative approach to psycho-social, spiritual and ethical aspects of care of the dying. The main focus of the program is the cultivation of mindful awareness, emotional balance, equanimity and compassion around issues of death and dying. These mental qualities and the practices that develop them assist caregivers in providing more mindful and compassionate end-of-life care and effective self-care that reduces secondary trauma, burn-out, and moral distress. This program will cover four aspects of changing the inner and outer culture of care of the dying: transformation of the caregiver, the patient, the community, and the health care institution.

Roshi Joan Halifax, PhD, has been in the end-of-life care field since 1970. She is co-author of "The Human Encounter with Death" and author of "Being with Dying: Cultivating Compassion and Fearlessness in the Presence of Death," among her many publications. She is founder of The Ojai Foundation, the Upaya Zen Center, the Upaya Institute, the Project of Being with Dying, the Upaya Prison Project, and on the Board and a Fellow of the Mind and Life Institute. For more information about Roshi Joan, her work and the Upaya Institute, visit www.upaya.org.

Fees for the four day course include course fees, food, accommodation and transportation between IWP and Chiang Mai: 6000 baht ($200 USD) for people in the global South and a sliding scale of $250-$300 USD for people in the global North.

UPAYA'S PROGRAMS

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Path of Service and Other Ways To Be at Upaya

Path of Service: Upaya is accepting applications for our Path of Service resident program, inviting practitioners to live and serve here from three months to a year or more. For more information and to apply click here or contact: pos@upaya.org

This is a wonderful way to give of your energy, deepen your Buddhist practice, and be in a thriving sangha. Enjoy and learn from the opportunity to receive zen teachings from Roshi Joan Halifax, Sensei Beate Genko Stolte and many other extraordinary teachers; hear weekly seminars and dharma talks; have dokusan with Sensei Beate, and experience the deep joy of living in community.

Personal Retreat/Guest Practitioner: Quiet, still, peaceful — Upaya is a special place in the fall with intimate rooms, kiva fireplaces, and breathtaking views. Spend some time here and find your own rhythm as a personal retreatant. To learn more about enjoying a peronal retreat at Upaya or coming as a guest practitioner, please contact Roberta at 505-986-8518 X12, registrar@upaya.org or click here.

Volunteer at our front desk, kitchen, garden or in housekeeping. Our volunteer program is intended for people who wish to contribute to Upaya and spend time working with the resident sangha; it is non-residential. For those who have the financial need, volunteer hours can be exchanged for retreat participation. In that case, a $10 hourly rate is credited for your work, and a maximum of 80% of the tuition may be earned and must be earned in advance of the event. Contact Roberta 505-986 8518, ext 12 or registrar@upaya.org.

Engaged Buddhism at Upaya

There are so many ways we can serve our communities. Please read on for information on Upaya's service programs on homelessness, caring for the sick and those in prison, as well as our "Upaya Compassionate Action Network."

Metta Refuge Council: Tuesday, 9:45 a.m., a meeting for people who are ill, their caregivers, hospice volunteers, nurses, and those interested in exploring issues around sickness, aging, and death. Beginning around 11:20 a.m. until 12:05 p.m. the group engages in contemplative writing as a way to explore what is present for people in the moment. No writing experience is needed. For more information, please contact Susan Benjamin at ArtTherapy@aol.com. For details: http://www.upaya.org/action/caring.php

TheUpaya Prison Project serves prison residents at Santa Fe County Adult Detention Center and the Penitentiary of New Mexico. New volunteers are starting training to work "inside", teaching stress management through meditation, simple yoga, and confidential conversation in a protected place. More volunteers are needed to teach life skills and social skills. If this interests you, email Ray Olson at nanrayols@aol.com.

UCAN! is the Upaya Compassionate Action Network. Every season, UCAN highlights a social or political issue, gives background on that issue from a spiritual perspective, and suggests a way that you can translate your insights into skillful action. The current focus is immigration. To learn more, please click here.

Upaya is a member of the Interfaith Leadership Alliance of Santa Fe. Residents, Chaplaincy Students, and staff are collaborating with this critical community organization in addressing the needs of those who are homeless in our community. Last fall and spring we donated time and resources to the Winter Overflow Shelter located at the old Pete's Pets building on Cerrillos. And we are currently enthusiastically pursuing upcoming opportunities. As soon as we have more information, we will update Sangha members, who are all welcome to participate on Upaya's behalf how, where, and when possible. If interested, please contact Natalie Calia at Natalie@upaya.org or call 505-986-8518 ext 17.

Please help support our projects by making a donation to Upaya Zen Center for the Metta Program or Upaya Prison Project. We are deeply grateful for any donation.

Upaya's Buddhist Chaplaincy Program

The whole idea of compassion is based on a keen awareness of the interdependence of all these living beings, which are all part of one another, and all involved in one another. —Thomas Merton

Chaplaincy Program Website. Based on the work of the late Francisco Varela and His Holiness the Dalai Lama, this visionary two-year program brings together science, systems theory, practice, and humanism in a powerful way with Roshi Joan Halifax, Roshi Bernie Glassman, Sensei Fleet Maull, Father John Dear, Rabbi Malka Drucker, Jimmy Santiago Baca, and an exceptional faculty next year. For more info, see the program website or contact program director Maia Duerr at chaplaincy@upaya.org

The Chaplaincy Scholarship Fund has been created to offer tuition scholarships for outstanding students who would not otherwise be able to attend Upaya's two-year Buddhist Chaplaincy Program.

We invite you to support this fund by donating here. Once we have the fund fully established, we will let prospective candidates know how to apply for scholarships. Thank you for your support!

Prison Outreach Project—Contributions Invited

Upaya's Prison Outreach Project is supported solely by generous contributions from members of the wider Upaya Sangha, like you, reached largely through this Internet newsletter. We need your contributions now to cover our costs for printing, mailing, and books. Please respond so that we can continue helping these men and women find a new life, blessed by the teachings of the Buddha.

Over 1,100 inmates are incarcerated in the combined local correction facilities of Santa Fe County and the State of New Mexico. Many of these inmates have had indescribably poor (or no) parenting, often with prolonged abuse—psychologic, violent, or sexual. Having learned few, if any, stress survival skills in their families, they turn to drugs and alcohol when faced with the daily stress of living. During the highs from these drugs they do the unskillful things that lead to incarceration. Seven volunteer members of the local Upaya Sangha are engaged in teaching weekly classes in both the county jail and the state prison, offering inmates alternatives to drugs and alcohol when they are released. Inmates tell us the practices they learn also lessen stress in their life “inside”.

In the weekly county jail classes we teach stress management techniques like meditation, simple yoga, and confidential conversation in a protected atmosphere. Our “Buddhist Studies” class for state prison inmates includes the basic unique ideas, taken from the Pali canon, which we believe were taught by the Buddha: including the conditionality of all phenomena, the Four Noble Truths, the central role of mindfulness practice, and the power of self reliance. To this we add the later Ten Grave (Ethical) Precepts. We also teach these prison inmates simple yoga and meditation.

We enjoy a constant influx of letters of inquiry from inmates incarcerated in prisons around the United States. To these we respond with a letter explaining our offering of meditation instruction, the “practice” vs. “faith” approach offered by Buddhism, and the basic teachings of the Buddha. We send in each reply a leaflet giving meditation instruction, another leaflet offering the basic teachings of the Buddha, and a copy of Thich Nhat Hanh’s talk to inmates at the Maryland State Prison.

Prajna Mountain Forest Refuge

Prajna Mountain Forest Refuge is a place of deep quiet and vastness, simplicity and hermit practice. Individuals do their own solo practice, hermit style. A few indoor beds but mostly camping in the meadows and forests. Outhouse, simple bathing facilities, camp kitchen with woodstove. Roshi created two iMovies about the Refuge: Prajna Mountain Forest Refuge—People, click here; Place, click here.

Upaya Scholarship Fund

Your donation to The Upaya Scholarship Fund will provide students of all ages and backgrounds with the means to participate in our programs and retreats. Please help support those in need by contributing to the fund.

Throughout the year, we receive many requests for financial assistance and would love to be able to meet everyone’s needs. With your generous donation we will be able to reach out more.

Monetary donations can be made by phone, mail, or online. International donations can be made securely online using PayPal. By phone we accept cash, check, MasterCard, and Visa. Please click here to make a donation.

Become a Member

Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them humanity cannot survive.—Dalai Lama

Become a member online. Your membership gives so much to Upaya, and we in turn offer free podcasts, daily practice, teachings, our weekly newsletter, videos, and service to the homeless, those in prisons, and at the end of life. We invite you to become a member of Upaya and support all that happens in this unique place of practice.For less than the cost of an evening out, your monthly donation will make a real difference in sustaining Roshi's work, Sensei Beate's teachings, and Upaya's existence.

Become a Upaya member BEFORE December 31, 2010 and receive a FREE UPAYA T-SHIRT!!

Once you have activated your new membership be sure to contact Upaya’s front office at 505-986-8518 X11 for sizing and shipping costs. Remember, this promotion will only last until December 31, 2010, so act now and tell your friends and family! The T-shirt is off-white with Upaya logo; it's also all organic cotton.

Green Tara Print — Inspired Holiday Gift

For December Only!__________

Limited quantities of the beautiful Green Tara giclée print created by renowned artist, Mayumi Oda are being offered for only $199 each (shipping is extra). The painting was made for Roshi Joan after her accident. It depicts a blond haired blue eyed green Tara of compassionate action with flowers and mountains of the Prajna Mountain Forest Refuge.

The prints are signed by both Mayumi and Roshi Joan, and the proceeds from this sale will benefit the Prajna Mountain Forest Refuge, so the majority of your purchase will be tax deductible. First come first served!

Limited supply, so please call our Guest Master promptly at 505-986-8518 to order, or email us at upaya@upaya.org.

Rooms and Some Meals Available at Upaya December 20 — January 8

From now till January 8th, Upaya Zen Center opens its doors to guests who wish to take time to enjoy Santa Fe, with its snowy mountains for hiking and skiiing, its beautiful adobe city filled with museums, galleries, and concerts, and its Indian pueblos celebrating feast days and dances in their villages.